JANESVILLE — Blackhawk Technical College honored students, staff and faculty who have made an impact through academics, involvement in student organizations and leadership at its annual Student Awards Ceremony on May 4.
One of the night’s highlights included the naming of Blackhawk’s Student of the Year. The honor went to Casey Bennett, an agribusiness/science and technology student who is described as a strong leader who loves to help his peers through advice, leadership and team confidence. Bennett holds a bachelor’s degree in history but returned to college in 2019 to retrain for a career in agriculture. He has assumed leadership roles in Professional Agriculture Students (PAS) organization and served as Blackhawk’s District Ambassador to the Wisconsin Technical College System in 2020.
Students also nominated faculty and staff for the awards of Faculty of the Year and Staff of the Year. This year, students honored Dusty Williams, agribusiness and farm management instructor, as Faculty of the Year, and Marissa Greuel Hainstock, an academic advisor, as Staff of the Year.
Students Casey Bennett and Ezra Johnson received the Outstanding Student Workers award, and Julia Zackary was given the Outstanding Intern Award.
The Student Leadership Awards were given to students who have participated in Blackhawk student organizations. Students who received this award have gone above and beyond by providing exemplary leadership within their organizations through a variety of roles, projects, events and competitions.
The winners were as follows:
● Business Professionals of America: David Jaeckel and Amy Powell
● Criminal Justice Association: Maram Assaf
● Epicurean Club: Chelsea Coakley
● Phi Theta Kappa: Amy Powell
● Professional Agricultural Students: Casey Bennett and Trinity Dyreson
● Student Government Association: Hope Hopper
The Professional Agricultural Students (PAS) won the Student Organization of the year. PAS has continuously been an extremely active organization and their students have engaged in a wide range of activities on campus, in the community, and at both a state and national level. This year, PAS has hosted multiple speaker sessions for students to learn about careers in agribusiness, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to help build a house in the Monroe community and has had numerous students compete, and excel, in their state and national competitions.
The groups advisor is Dusty Williams and members include Trevor Bausch, Casey Bennett, Avery Caley, Issa Conombo, Trinity Dyreson, Noah Fenrick, Luke Grocholl, Summer Hollis, Jason Hunt, Gavin Jenson, Jordan Lerch, Ashley Letcher, Jencie Lynaugh, Bryce Montgomery, Troy Nickels, Mckenna Pfeuti, Heidi Reed, Leslie Reinke, Kalee Schaefer and Amber Wurslin.
Students also were honored for Outstanding Academic Achievement. Those who received this award have demonstrated academic excellence in their credit program and were nominated by their instructors. Students were selected based on leadership qualities, academic performance and participation in coursework.
Those honored were as follows:
● Automotive Technician: John Hanson
● Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration: Tucker Mathias
● Accounting: Marie Kasprzak
● Administrative Professional: Amy McKenzie
● Agribusiness/Science and Technology: Casey Bennett
● Business Management: Reed Farr, Samuel Jauch, Saije Kwasniak
● Culinary Arts: Taylor Mohns
● Early Childhood Education: Rachel Barry, Citlalic Pena, Julia Zackary
● Foundations of Teacher Education: Jessica McGrath, Rebecca Nelson
● Human Resources: Nancy Ramos De La Cruz
● IT Web Software Development: William Coughlin, Nicholas Robert
● Dental Assistant: Luciana Burns-Dwyer, Adisen Gittings, Kennedy Gordon
● Diagnostic Medical Sonography & Vascular Technology: Erica Dominick
● Nursing: Rebecca Gosz, Kyleigh Kreager
● Physical Therapist Assistant: Gabriela Anderson, Sarah Howell, William Theama
● Radiography: Genevieve Decker, Kayla Honaker, Brianna Nightengale